Chapter 20

Office Politics


"Do you have my case file on the Ramsden merger?"

Toga glanced up from the contract he'd been reading through. "No . . . was I supposed to?"

Kari sighed, holding one arm over her stomach as she rubbed her temple with her free hand. "Are you sure you didn't take it? Some sort of initiation hazing or something?

Toga frowned. "And why would I do that? You've worked here long enough that it shouldn't even be an issue."

"I can't find the contract," Kari admitted with a grimace, as though she expected Toga to laugh at her.

Toga dropped the paperwork and his pen on the stack of papers scattered over his desktop and sat back. "I'd love to help you," he said as he shook his head slowly, "but honestly, I have no idea where it is. Can't you call legal and have them get you another copy?"

Kari sank down in the high back wooden chair across from him and glowered at him. "The signing is tomorrow, so no, I can't just get another copy!"

Bristling at her acidic tongue, Toga tried to tell himself that she was just upset over losing the contract. "You know, you'd get more help if you tried to remember that I'm not your enemy," he commented as he deliberately retrieved the contract he'd been looking over.

"You're right," she agreed with a defeated sigh as she leaned forward and dropped her face into her hands. "You've been really nice to me, and . . . I'm sorry."

Letting the contract fall back onto his desk, Toga relented. "It's fine," he told her. "Did you take it home with you?"

She shook her head without looking up. "No . . . I left it on my desk last night because it was all done."

"Did it fall on the floor?"

That did get her attention. Snapping her head up, she shot him a wicked glare designed to let him know that she didn't appreciate his sense of humor. Toga chuckled and held up his hands. "Sorry . . . ."

She sighed again as she straightened up. "Toga . . . I'm serious. Sampson doesn't like me. He was against me from the start . . . ."

Toga shook his head. "What? Didn't he hire you?"

"Sure, he did. My mother is his second ex-wife. She called in a favor, and if I blow this . . . ."

"Let me go down to legal and see if they can do a rush on getting a new contract for you," Toga offered as he stood up.

The relief in Kari's face was instant. "Thank you, Toga! If you can swing this, I'll owe you, big."

He shook his head. "Huge."

She finally smiled. "All right, huge."

He strode down the hallway and into the stairwell, running down the four flights to the legal department. All three secretaries glanced up when he walked in, and he jammed one hand in his pocket as he adjusted his glasses with the other. "Hi, Toga! How were your holidays?" Lisa asked as Toga stopped walking. She was the one he normally spoke to, and he figured he might as well ask her for the favor.

"Nice," he answered with a shy smile. "Hey, um, I . . . uh . . . lost a contract, and I was wondering if you could get me a copy of it?"

Lisa shook her head but returned his smile. "What contract?"

"The Ramsden merger."

Her sandy eyebrows shot up as she peeked up at him. "Ramsden? You're not working on that one, are you?"

Toga shrugged as he stuffed his other hand into his pocket, too. "I was asked to lend Kari a hand."

Lisa nodded slowly as she started shuffling through some papers to find the tracking number of the document in question. "You need this by tomorrow?" she asked incredulously.

Toga made a face very much like the one he used to use on his mother when she caught him snitching cookies after school. "Uh . . . yes."

Lisa stared at him for a long moment before turning to speak to another secretary. "Kendra, is there any way we can get a copy of the Ramsden contract? The signing is tomorrow."

Kendra looked surprised, too, as her gaze shifted to Toga. He managed an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

Kendra hooked a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear and giggled. "If you let me touch your hair, Toga, I'll see . . . ."

"My hair?" he echoed blankly. "You want to . . . ?"

The third secretary---an older woman named Bonnie---laughed. "Of course she does, sweetie. You didn't know that?"

He shook his head. "Uh . . . ."

Kendra got up and ran over to him, her fingers latching onto a lock of his hair before she had stopped moving as Lisa stood and hurried over, too. Toga could feel his face heating as the girls exclaimed over his hair, and his embarrassment only got worse when Bonnie swept over to join the girls, as well.

"You know, Toga, I'm in charge of next year's benefit calendar . . ." Lisa remarked. "Care to pose? It's all for charity . . . ."

"Oh, you know, he'd be a great cover boy, wouldn't he?" Kendra piped up.

"Wha---? No way," Toga muttered as his face warmed another few degrees.

"But think of all the money you'd make, all in the name of charity!" Lisa begged.

"Come on, Toga, just one picture . . . it'd be harmless, I swear . . . ."

Toga scowled as he glanced at Kendra. "Why do you care?"

Kendra shrugged but couldn't hide her grin. "I'm on the committee."

He groaned.

"Seriously, it's all for charity . . . You'd make a great Christmas model." She wiggled her eyebrows as Toga reddened even more.

"I'll think about it," Toga grumbled, figuring that they'd drop it if he conceded that much, even if he didn't actually intend to do anything of the sort.

Bonnie cleared her throat. "Girls, you'd better tell him the rest."

"What rest?" Toga asked suspiciously, not liking the sound of Bonnie's tone.

"Oh, nothing," Kendra remarked a little too innocently.

Lisa wrinkled her nose. "It's a beefcake calendar this year."

The look on his face must have betrayed his ignorance, because all three women burst into laughter. "Ask your girlfriend, Toga," Kendra told him. "If she says no, then we promise, we'll never bug you again." Letting go of his hair, she patted his shoulder before heading back toward her desk.

Lisa sighed. "But if she says yes . . . then we'll bug you forever."

"How do you know I have a girlfriend?" he demanded.

Kendra rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Toga! A cutie like you? Of course you have a girlfriend because you certainly don't act gay!"

Bonnie chuckled. "Okay, Toga. For you and that doll-baby face of yours, we'll have the contract ready for you by ten tomorrow morning."

Toga grinned, as much from relief that the women were heading back to work. "Thank you, ladies," he called over his shoulder as he headed out of the office again.

"Visit again, soon!" Lisa hollered.

He grimaced as he pushed into the stairwell. What was a beefcake calendar, anyway?


--0--0--0--0--0--


"Hi. Got a minute?"

Toga dropped the papers he was looking over as a bright smile as he rose to his feet and hurried around his desk. "Hi, sure . . . what are you doing here?"

Sierra tilted her cheek as he kissed her. "Well, I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd see if we're still on for tonight."

He sat back on the edge of his desk and grinned. "Sure . . . . I learned my lesson. You're a little scary when I cancel," he teased.

She grinned. "So how long do you have to work this evening?"

Toga shrugged. "I could leave now . . . if I wanted . . . if I had a reason to leave . . . ."

"A reason, huh? well . . . we could get an early start on that dinner and movie," she suggested.

"Hmm, that would depend."

"On what?"

He lifted his eyebrows. "On what you're making for dinner."

Sierra giggled. "What do you want?"

A thousand ideas raced through his head, none of which involved food and all of which weren't things that he dared mention. He relented with a sigh directed more at his own wayward thoughts than at her. "Whatever you make is fine."

"So . . . want to come home with me?"

He grinned. "Sure. I have to tell Kari something. Then we can go. He grabbed his jacket and jerked his head toward the door. You want to meet her?"

Sierra looked like she was considering it. Finally she nodded and took the hand he offered her. He kissed the back of her hand before dragging her into the hallway. He knocked on the next office and poked his head inside as Kari glanced up from the contract she was looking over. "I talked to the girls in legal. They'll have the contract ready by ten."

Absolute relief surfaced on Kari's face as she smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Toga . . . you're a life saver."

Sierra squeezed Toga's hand and he pulled her into the office behind him. "Kari, this is Sierra . . . Sierra, this is---"

"Sierra. How have you been?" Kari asked as the icy demeanor slipped back over her.

Sierra stiffened behind him, and he turned to look at her. She looked more irritated than he could recall her being, and he frowned. "How's Allan?" she asked stiffly.

Kari offered Sierra a completely insincere smile. Toga glanced back and forth. "Allan?"

"I wouldn't know. We split up because of . . . you, wasn't it?"

Toga pushed Sierra behind his back and couldn't keep back the growl that rumbled from his throat. Kari looked surprised as she stepped back in retreat. He glared at his co-worker for another moment before turning back to Sierra. "Let's go."

She didn't look like she wanted to. Finally she nodded and turned on her heel, pulling her hand away as she strode over to the elevator and hit the 'down' button about twenty times before Toga reached her side. One glance at her face convinced him not to ask questions. The brightness in her eyes was too telling, the smell of her tears already registering as he winced. A completely instinctive desire to go back, to tear Kari to shreds made him gnash his teeth together. He didn't know why he was so irate, but he didn't like anyone or anything causing Sierra any pain, and it was obvious to him that whatever had happened between the two before hadn't been pleasant.

She pushed the button a few more times as she struggled to keep herself from crying. With a low whine, Toga grabbed her hand and dragged her to the doorway, to the stairs. The door closed behind them, and Toga picked her up, cradled her against him as he descended the stairs. Sierra buried her face against his shoulder as she let her tears fall.

Trying to soothe her as best as he could as he ran down the stairs, feeling angry at the complete sense of inadequacy, his youkai kept hissing at him, 'Your mate . . . fix it . . . help her . . . .'

Wincing as he realized again that there wasn't much he could do, blaming himself for being stupid enough to introduce the two women, it didn't do any good to tell himself that he didn't know that they were already familiar with the other. 'Baka! It's your fault!'

"Sierra?" he said softly, on the tenth floor landing.

She drew in a ragged breath and turned her face to the side. "Yes?"

Toga grimaced. "I . . . I'm sorry . . . ."

She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "What for?"

"I . . . I didn't know . . . I . . . ." He trailed off as a black scowl surfaced on his features, self-disgust evident in the lines of his face. "I swore I'd protect you, and I failed . . . I didn't know . . . ."

Sierra choked out a weak laugh as she let her head fall against him again. "It's fine. You didn't know, and . . . and you didn't fail. I'm just a stupid girl who cries about dumb things."

He made a face. "You're not 'just' anything, Sierra, and I lo---I don't want to see you cry."

She gasped and leaned away, her gaze serious, bright, as she stared at his face. He stared straight ahead, blushing at his near slip, hoping she didn't catch it even as he knew in his heart that she probably did . . . . "You . . . you do?"

He frowned and shook his head. "No, I don't."

Her frown mirrored his. "You . . . don't . . . ."

"No . . . of course not! It kills me to see you cry."

She shook her head quickly. "Not that . . . what you almost said, before that . . . did you mean it?"

Unable to staunch the blood that rushed to his cheeks, Toga nodded once.

She giggled suddenly, a soft yet ragged sound, as she relaxed again. "I . . . um . . . I lo---I'd hate to see you cry, too."

His step faltered, and he glanced down at her. Eyes closed, nose still red from crying, she had a radiant smile on her face that was beautiful and wonderful and brilliant, just the same.

He held her tighter as he ran down the last of the stairs with Sierra cuddled against his chest as a smile of his own broke over his face.


A/N:


Final Thought from Toga:

Allan, huh


Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Defiance): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

Sue